Posted on 04/09/2008 7:09:06 PM PDT by blam
African inflation could cause "humanitarian tsunami"
Brussels Tue Apr 8, 10:02 AM ET
AFP/File Photo: People shop for groceries at a supermarket in the Borrowdale Brooke suburb in Harare. Soaring...
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Soaring prices of basic foodstuffs could cause a "humanitarian tsunami" in Africa, EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel warned Tuesday.
"A world food crisis is emerging, less visible than the oil (price) crisis, but with the potential effect of real economic and humanitarian tsunami in Africa," Michel said in a statement after a meeting with African Union Commission chief Jean Ping.
Ping said the soaring prices represented a "major challenge" and called on the international community to invest in the farming sector, notably in Africa, the European Commission said in a statement.
Michel said the EU's executive arm planned, in the short term, to boost its emergency food aid and push for more international mobilisation to help tackle the problem of food security in Africa.
Funding earmarked for agriculture and rural development in the poorest nations from the European Development Funds will be boosted from 650 million euros (one billion dollars) presently to 1.2 billion, he said.
Since African households spend a relatively high proportion of their earnings on food, higher food prices hit them particularly hard.
The rise in prices of food staples such as rice, wheat flour and maize are also forcing African governments to take emergency measures which are affecting their budgets.
The rise in international food prices "poses significant threats to Africa's growth, peace and security," African finance ministers warned in a statement at the end of a meeting in Addis Ababa last week to discuss the crisis.
Africa is long on UN and European meddling and short on liberty and free market capitalism.
Bush’s fault. ;-)
let nature take it's course...
Wonder what the ratio of AIDS funds compared to agricultural development funds has been over the last 10-15 years?
If farm prices are going up, then the answer is for local farmers to finally make good money raising crops and raising more food as a result.
Thank you, ETHANOL!
“The Camp of the Saints”
Jean Raspail
I wll also note that the picture of a supermarket in Zimbabwe is a “Potemkin Village’ sort of thing. The only stores that are stocked right now are the ones in Mugabe’s area of the capitol.
Yup, I saw that and agree.
Bingo! The stupidity of ethanol is monumental We will have a similar "humanitarian tsunami" from Mexico and South America if we don't start drilling for oil instead of cooking corn for it!
Oil prices keep raising and making ethanol competitive.
Guess the arabs have screwed the pooch as they are the ones having to import much of their food.
As for Africa? It is and has been a black hole for aid. Give as much as you can and Africa always needs more.
And how much of that aid goes to corruption?
Use food as a weapon against unAmerican interests.
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